Lesson: Writing the history of Alice Paul and the NWP

Activity One: Write the biography of Alice Paul

Divide the class into small groups. Assign each group one aspect of Paul’s life and work to research for the biography:

a. birth through her departure to England
b. work with the suffragists in England
c. NAWSA and the Congressional Union
d. the Congressional Union and the NWP
e. Equal Rights Amendment
f. historical context of Paul’s life and work

When considering how to write the biography of Alice Paul, students should think about:

a. the importance of the era in which Paul lived
b. the impact of the major events of the first half of the twentieth century on the women’s movement
c. the extent to which Paul’s work for women and the institutions with which she was associated (NAWSA, the Congressional Union – the NAWSA subcommittee that Paul helped to lead before she formed the NWP-- and the NWP itself) defined her life

The following websites provide biographical and other useful information:

http://www.alicepaul.org/alicepaul.htm
http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/features_suffrage.html
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/suffrage1900/
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/ (Browse for Alice Paul, her associates, the NWP, and other relevant topics.)
http://www.hbo.com/films/ironjawedangels/cast/characters/alicepaul.html (This website for the HBO movie, Iron Jawed Angels, about the struggle of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns to secure the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, includes a transcript of the movie.)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/aw01e/aw01e.html (campaign)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmss5/suffrage_orgs.html (a general website on American women with links to other sources)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmss5/final_push.html (a website focusing on the last stages of the suffrage campaign with links to other sources)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mcchtml/womhm.html
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/vfwhtml/vfwhome.html
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/naw/nawstime.html (timeline that gives an overview of the women’s suffrage movement)

Students should look at the close associates of Alice Paul: the Pankhursts (from England), Lucy Burns, Chrystal Eastman, Inez Milholland (Boisevain), and the leaders of NAWSA.

Books: Eleanor Flexner. Century of Struggle
Aileen Kraditor. The Ideas of the Woman Suffrage Movement
Christine Lunardini. From Equal Suffrage to Equal Rights

Activity Two:

Rewrite the chapter or section of the classroom textbook on the women’s suffrage movement to include Alice Paul and the NWP, or to expand on the information provided about them:

1. Using the same groups and group-research approach, have the class select the appropriate information for this expanded coverage of the campaign for woman’s suffrage.
2. Include visual representations--photographs and posters.

Activity Four: Divide the class into four groups. Assign each group one of the following topics:

1. NAWSA’s support of Woodrow Wilson
2. NAWSA’s “Winning Plan”
3. NWP’s focus solely on a federal amendment for women’s suffrage
4. NWP’s decision to picket the White House

Have each group share its research on the assigned topic with the class.

Extension Activity:

Essay

1. To what extent was the strategy of the NWP successful in bringing about the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment?

2. To what extent did the United States’ entry into World War I affect the women’s suffrage movement?